Replacements Named forCoors Light ECHL All-Star Game

Dupuis, Forster Added To National Roster, Beechey Joins American Roster

PRINCETON, N.J. – The ECHL announced on Thursday that Bakersfield defenseman Guy Dupuis and Victoria defenseman Nathan Forster have been added to the 2005 Coors Light ECHL All-Star Game roster for the National Conference and that Pensacola forward Tyler Beechey has been added to the roster for the American Conference.

The 13th Annual ECHL All-Star Game and Skills Competition will be held at the 7,215-seat Sovereign Center in Reading, Pa. The Skills Competition will be on January 25 at 7:05 p.m. and the All-Star Game will be played on January 26 at 7:05 p.m. Tickets are still available for all events and can be purchased at the Reading Royals box office or by telephone at (610) 898-7825.

Dupuis will replace injured Las Vegas defenseman Jason McBain in the starting lineup for the National Conference while Forster will replace injured Victoria teammate Brad Dexter. Toledo defenseman Danny Eberly will start in place of Dexter for the National Conference.

Beechey will replace Charlotte forward Mike Harder, who is injured, in the starting lineup for the American Conference. The player who will replace Harder as Alternate Captain will be determined later.

The starting lineups for All-Star Game were determined in voting by National Conference coaches, team captains, media relations directors, broadcasters and newspaper writers. Coaches also submitted the top prospects from within their conference that determined the final roster with each of the 28 teams in the league having a representative.

Dupuis leads league defensemen with 22 assists and is tied for second in scoring with 28 points in 38 games. In his 15th professional season, the 34-year-old Dupuis has 397 points (92g-305a) in 969 career regular season games and 14 points (3g-11a) in 63 career playoff games in the American Hockey League, the International Hockey League, the West Coast Hockey League, the German Elite League and the United Hockey League.

Beechey is tied for the league lead with 17 power-play points (7ppg-10ppa) and is second in the league with a team-leading 45 points (19g-26a) and six game-winning goals. In his third professional season, the 23-year-old Beechey has 151 (52g-99a) points in 156 ECHL regular season games and seven points (5g-2a) in eight Kelly Cup Playoff games with Trenton and Pensacola. He has also played in the AHL with Providence scoring three points (2g-1a) in three games.

The 24-year-old Forster opened the season in Russia, scoring 16 points (10g-6a) in 40 games with St. Petersburg SKA, before joining Victoria where he has nine points (3g-6a) in 23 games. Selected in the seventh round (179th overall) by Washington in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, Forster began his professional career in the ECHL with Richmond in 2000-01 and has scored 27 points in 77 career regular season ECHL games. He has also played in the AHL with Portland scoring five points (2g-3a) in 41 regular season games.